Name: Michael Butz
Age: 46
Hometown: Vienna, WV
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I was always one of those people who said I would never run or you couldn't pay me enough to run the Parkersburg 1/2 marathon. But I have done a lot to help with the marathon from having a camera crew in the back of a truck I drove when I worked at Superior Toyota, to being on the bike patrol, to last year working a water stop, but one day decided to do it. My step daughter has run it every year for the last 7 or 8 years so I give her credit in getting me to do it. My first I thought I was gonna die before I finished. But after I crossed that finish line I felt like I had just accomplished a major task. I felt great. That was 3 years ago. Then the following year I started training in April and every Monday night I was out training. And I finished the course faster (by 10 minutes) than the year before and I was in better shape and felt even better. Then last year I missed the race with an injury. This year I'm doing the 2 mile race cause I have been too busy to train the way I did 2 years ago. But I'm planning on running/waking it again next year. I have gone from saying I'll never do that to looking forward to running/walking it every year now.